Wheel Build Advice Thread

dkselw

Likes Bikes
After 9 weeks I have given up waiting for Sapim race spokes to arrive from spokesfromryan.
I am thinking of trying the Pillar PSR TB 2018 spokes from Dirtworks. I am after advice on spoke lengths and nipples. With spokesfromryan I was able to order spokes in 1mm increments, with the spokes from Dirtworks they will be in 2mm increments.

I have a DT Swiss XM481 29" front rim, EX 511 29" rear rim, 350 DBCL Boost front hub and a 350 DBIS Boost rear hub. All are 32 spoke.

The DT Swiss spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.8mm and 294.2mm for the front, 291.6mm and 291.2mm for the rear.
The Wheelpro spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.2mm and 293.8mm for the front, 291.3mm and 290.6mm for the rear.
Would 292mm and 294mm spokes be ok for the front and 292mm for both sides at the rear?

How does the head profile of the Pillar standard brass 12mm 14G nipples from http://www.dirtworksb2b.com.au/nipples-brass~62376 compare with DT Swiss Squorx or Sapim Polyax nipples?
I found brass 12mm Sapim Polyax nipples on Ebay, but at $45.99 for 100 they are expensive.
 
Last edited:

Flow-Rider

Burner
The DT Swiss spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.8mm and 294.2mm for the front, 291.6mm and 291.2mm for the rear.
The Wheelpro spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.2mm and 293.8mm for the front, 291.3mm and 290.6mm for the rear.
Would 292mm and 294mm spokes be ok for the front and 292mm for both sides at the rear?
292 & 294 front 292 & 290 rear.

This calculator has never let me down.

https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Buggers of things to build with; being so thin the wind-up is horrendous. Competition are much nicer to build with.
Yeah, I have built about 10-12 sets of wheels with revos. Used to be my favourite spoke but they are very wirey.

I had it in my head that the Sapim Race were 2.0-1.5-2.0, Just checked and the Sapim Race are actually 2.0-1.8-2.0, so you were spot on with Competition thickness.

Competitions are under $4 for a pack of 4 silver and under $5 for 4 pack of black.


I hate buying spokes in Australia, over priced and under stocked.
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
After 9 weeks I have given up waiting for Sapim race spokes to arrive from spokesfromryan.
I am thinking of trying the Pillar PSR TB 2018 spokes from Dirtworks. I am after advice on spoke lengths and nipples. With spokesfromryan I was able to order spokes in 1mm increments, with the spokes from Dirtworks they will be in 2mm increments.

I have a DT Swiss XM481 29" front rim, EX 511 29" rear rim, 350 DBCL Boost front hub and a 350 DBIS Boost rear hub. All are 32 spoke.

The DT Swiss spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.8mm and 294.2mm for the front, 291.6mm and 291.2mm for the rear.
The Wheelpro spoke calculator gives the spoke lengths as 292.2mm and 293.8mm for the front, 291.3mm and 290.6mm for the rear.
Would 292mm and 294mm spokes be ok for the front and 292mm for both sides at the rear?

How does the head profile of the Pillar standard brass 12mm 14G nipples from http://www.dirtworksb2b.com.au/nipples-brass~62376 compare with DT Swiss Squorx or Sapim Polyax nipples?
I found brass 12mm Sapim Polyax nipples on Ebay, but at $45.99 for 100 they are expensive.
I round off to the nearest even-numbered increment; eg. 291.x gets rounded up to 292, 290.x gets rounded down to 290. Working this way you're always within 1mm of the exact calculated length.

On that basis, both calculators would agree with 292/294 front, however while the DT calculator would lean toward 292 for both sides of the rear, Wheelpro would go 290/292. Really though, the margins are so small either will work fine, so it really comes down to whether you prefer to handle two spoke lengths or three to get them in the right places. :)

As for Pillar nipples, can't say I've noticed anything drastically different from anything else.
 

dkselw

Likes Bikes
Yeah, I have built about 10-12 sets of wheels with revos. Used to be my favourite spoke but they are very wirey.

I had it in my head that the Sapim Race were 2.0-1.5-2.0, Just checked and the Sapim Race are actually 2.0-1.8-2.0, so you were spot on with Competition thickness.

Competitions are under $4 for a pack of 4 silver and under $5 for 4 pack of black.


I hate buying spokes in Australia, over priced and under stocked.
The Pillar PSR TB 2018 spokes from http://www.dirtworksb2b.com.au/j-bend-psr-tb-2018-2.2-2.0-1.8-2.0-silver are around $1 each also and are listed as in stock. I have waited so long for the spokes, I was hoping to find something OK in Australia. I have not built many wheels. That last wheel I built used Sapim race spokes and that went well. I don't have any experience with Pillar spokes.
 

dkselw

Likes Bikes
As for Pillar nipples, can't say I've noticed anything drastically different from anything else.
The DT Swiss Squorx and the Sapim Polyax nipples have a fairly long rounded bearing surface under the head. The photo of the Pillar standard brass nipples looks like they have a relatively short chamfer instead. Would they work as intended with the DT Swiss PHR washers? I am guessing they would try to pull at right angles to the rim rather than inline with the spoke.
 

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dkselw

Likes Bikes
Another photo of Pillar nipples from https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=159759
I can't see much info on the Pillar website, so I guess none of them have the Prohead or Polyax shape.
It turns out that I don't know what the shape of the brass Prohead nipples is. The DT Swiss website describes them as having a spherical contact surface, but then shows drawings some with a spherical contact surface and some with a chamfer. I have alloy squorx and brass polyax nipples and these do have a spherical contact surface.
 

CHEWY

Eats Squid
I've picked up a spoke tension meter. Turns out I am really shit at evenly tensioning a wheel.

On a 32 spoke 29er boost wheel should I be aiming for 100kgf drive / 80kgf disc? (I think I saw that somewhere...)
 

PJO

in me vL comy
I've picked up a spoke tension meter. Turns out I am really shit at evenly tensioning a wheel.

On a 32 spoke 29er boost wheel should I be aiming for 100kgf drive / 80kgf disc? (I think I saw that somewhere...)
You should be bringing the drive side up to around that number but the non-drive side will just fall into whatever tension is required to keep the rim in line with axle centre (i.e. dish).
 

creaky

XMAS Plumper
I've picked up a spoke tension meter. Turns out I am really shit at evenly tensioning a wheel.

On a 32 spoke 29er boost wheel should I be aiming for 100kgf drive / 80kgf disc? (I think I saw that somewhere...)
Take the higher tension side (DS on rear, NDS on front traditionally) up to full tension (I'd aim for more than 100kgf unless it's a very light alloy rim). The lower tension side is what it is to get the dish right.
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
Build about 10kgf higher than you think you need to. It's not commonly realised that wheels lose a bit of tension once the tyres are fitted & inflated. So an original build of 100kgf rear drive/front disc sides might drop to 90 or so, be a bit floppy and be prone to detensioning. On a mid-spec aluminium rim I'd go 120, which will then settle to about 110, and as the above couple of posts advise, the other side will be what it is to centre the rim; several factors will affect the exact balance. The key is to build as evenly as possible within each side of the wheels.
 

PJO

in me vL comy
The lengths worked out well. All the spokes came to at least the bottom of the slot in the nipples.
Sounds great, don't stress if you have spokes that are a bit too long, there are actually some benefits in having spokes that are slightly longer rather than shorter:
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
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